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Jobs that bring in the most cash for Americans

What are the common threads between the highest-paying professions? According to Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, Chief Economist for Glassdoor, there tend to be three factors: higher educational requirements, skills that are in demand, and protection from automation or competition. Check out the Glassdoor list of the 25 highest-paying jobs in America for 2016 and see how well they match up to those criteria. (Note: The salaries listed are median base salaries.)

1. Physician – The medical profession tops the list with a base salary of $180,000. Medical careers consistently top the high-paying job lists and are far above the second-place category in 2016.

2. Lawyer – Representing your legal needs (or that of your opponent) ranks second on the salary chart. The legal profession draws an average salary of $144,500.

3. Research and Development Manager – Doctors and lawyers were no surprise, but R&D managers were probably not your expected choice for third place. Yet R&D managers draw an average salary of $142,120, not far behind lawyers.

4. Software Development Manager – Managing the development of that killer software — or the boring but necessary software for businesses and infrastructure — draws $132,000.

5. Pharmacy Manager – Pharmacies handle more than the simple filling of your prescriptions, and pharmacy managers pull down $130,000 as a result.

6. Strategy Manager – What does a strategy manager do? Find the best path to implement a business' goals and initiatives with the resources at hand. They average $130,000 in salary.

7. Software Architect – Software architects are responsible for technical standards, architectural design, and approval methods at various steps along the software development path. They average $128,250 in pay.

8. Integrated Circuit Design Engineer – They create the fabrication patterns for computer chips and bring in an average of $127,500.

9. IT Manager – IT managers handle all aspects of a business' electronic networks and information systems. The job pays $120,000.

10. Solutions Architect – This job title can cover many variations, but the common thread is creating robust solutions to problems. That diverse skill brings in $120,000.

22. Product Manager – Take on the responsibility of managing a product line and earn $107,000.

23. Design Manager – Having responsibility for the design of new products or processes earns $106,500.

24. Analytics Manager – What does it all mean? Analytics managers can determine the real meaning of data sets for an average salary of $106,000.

25. Information Systems Manager – These are the folks responsible for the day-to-day operation of information systems, and are paid $106,000 for their efforts.

Note that fourteen of the 25 titles end with "Manager". Good managers are hard to find, and impossible to automate... so far.

If you want to target one of these professions as your own, remember that there are always reasons for high salaries. It may be long hours, levels of responsibility, stress, or some other factor, but every high-salaried profession has some tradeoff. To the extent you can, choose a profession that lets you do what you love in life — because money alone cannot buy happiness inside or outside of a job. However, if you're all about bringing home the bacon, perhaps you should consider a career in sports
. We are still trying to crack the list of world's richest athletes
.

This article was provided by our partners at MoneyTips.com. Related stories: